Eau Claire man uses drawing talent to overcome addiction - WEAU

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) -- Paintings, drawings and testimonies from inmates and formerly incarcerated artists will be on display in the Chippewa Valley. One local artist and former inmate will have some work on display in the Pen Project Exhibit.

Matthew Hey is a local man who has struggled with addiction, homelessness and incarceration, but he says his life line through it all is art. With just a pencil and a piece of paper he is proving that even in the most negative of times there is a reason to stay positive and more importantly keep drawing.

Matt is sharing his drawings that were created during some of his hardest days. "The 5 years that I have lived here, I've spent 23 months in county jail here for alcohol related offenses,” said Matthew Hey.

His struggles with alcoholism, depression and homelessness kept rising to the surface. "That's the hardest part about being incarcerated is trying to find anything positive in an environment like that,” Hey added.

During that time, Matt turned to drawing, which he calls his life line. "I was able to acquire little golf pencils and paper, they hand out about 3 sheets of paper a week,” Hey said. He gets his inspiration from his experiences to draw abstract art and recently portraits to kick off his new career. "I've struggled with depression most of my life too,” Hey said. “It’s kind of hard to be depressed now.”

He has received help from the Chippewa Valley Street Ministry and now has partnered with them to sell note cards with his drawings to benefit the ministry and Matt. "I can't do anything like that so it is amazing to me that pen to paper can be so creative,” said Michelle Pride from the Chippewa Valley Street Ministry.

He has also started an internship with the Eau Claire Design Company, which he describes as a dream job. "I think the most beneficial thing is just spending time together and encouraging him in his natural gift sets,” said Keri White, the owner of Eau Claire Design Company.

By using just a pencil and paper, Matt is designing hi own destiny. "I can't think of many times in my life where I have been happy and I am happy now,” Hey said.

Matt is currently going through treatment court, selling some artwork and living in more permanent housing. He will have some work featured in the pen project exhibit that will run from Thursday, February 21 until the end of March 28 at the Heyde Center in Chippewa Falls. The artist reception will take place on March 14 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. For more information click here.

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